No, not that Goku, but Goku from the NES game YuYuKi. A great support thread made by @
Venus of the Desert Bloom
can be found
here.
If someone were to start nominating *THAT* Goku, it may provide for a very, very interesting day. I think I would allow the nominations to fly if there weren't a bunch of objections to it...
REYN TIME! Double 0's
Reyn has absolutely no shot at getting in before Shulk, and the chance of two Xenoblade newcomers is equally nonexistent. That leaves him without any chance. I personally think a One-and-Shulk-Done is what fits Xenoblade the best; I have no desire to see multiple characters from the game.
Dixie Kong
EVERYTHING points towards getting a DK newcomer. I'll list just delineate it for you:
1) Sales to Character Ratio: Although the DK franchise is behind only Mario, Pokemon, Wii, and Zelda in terms of sales, it has only two characters playable in Smash.
2) Relevancy: It has a big new game coming out, and said game was a big title in development while Smash was being planned.
3) Demand: Fan demand for a DK character is obnoxiously high. One character is in the High Tier of Requests, a second is in the Middle Tier of Requests.
4) Character-Centric Series: Characters make the DK series. The games usually alternated between protagonists. They also created a memorable villain and cast of side characters.
5) Incomplete Series: There are still important characters from the series that are not on the roster.
Based on the points I've made, I'd say that there is a
20% of no DK newcomer, a 20% chance of two DK newcomers, and an 60% chance of one DK newcomer. I can't say for certain that there will be a newcomer because there are limited slots available and strong cases can be made for other non-DK characters. Even with this observation, please note that I say there's a stronger chance of a DK newcomer than there is of getting Little Mac, Miis, Pac-Man, or Palutena. There is a 20% chance of two DK characters because the franchise has multiple strong candidates for a roster spot. Now, there are really three candidates and three candidates only for this slot. I now see the breakdown as follows:
Dixie Kong: 45% chance
Dixie Kong made her first appearance in the oft-acclaimed DKC2. She went on to be the
star of the oft-forgotten DKC3. Although she disappeared for DK64, she resurfaced in a few spin-offs and has scored a prominent role in Tropical Freeze. This prominent role in Tropical Freeze is one of her biggest boons--she's relevant and her playability in Smash would definitely hype the game. In addition to her relevance, she also has the ease of creation advantage--her body frame is so similar to Diddy's that she would be one of the easier newcomers to make. Her popularity and importance to her series are high--but are not quite as much so as a competitor of hers. Finally, she gets bonus points for being a strong female character, something that seems to be helping characters out this time. Her main drawbacks are her lack of obvious uniqueness and the severe competition she faces.
Dixie Kong Want: 66%
I've often bashed her in the past because I'd prefer K. Rool or Kranky. Playing through DKC2 has reminded me that she's a good character, and that my reason for not wanting her is simply competition. Even so, I'd have to admit that she'd be one of my favorite potential newcomers if not for the fact that her confirmation would destroy the likelihood of seeing my number one newcomer.
King K. Rool: 40% chance
King K. Rool is the main villain of the Donkey Kong franchise. He was the main villain of every game in the original DKC trilogy, the main villain in DK64, and the antagonist in most of the spin-off titles. Once the ubiquitous final boss, he's completely disappeared from his own franchise lately... much to the chagrin of his large, vocal fanbase. This fanbase is huge in the East and the West and makes him one of the most requested characters worldwide. Outside of popularity and importance to the franchise as a whole, his other selling points include potential for uniqueness and his status as a villain. He lacks relevancy, and, while he could be used to promote Tropical Freeze even if he doesn't appear in it, this would be done much better by his competitors. He's not as simple to make as Dixie, and he would require more work. Since he's a Donkey Kong character, he faces strong kompetition.
King K. Rool Want: 100%
My favorite potential newcomer. When I was a lad, I always thought he was pretty cool, and he was the first character I ever made a Smash moveset for. That's what's always drawn me to him: I just flat out think he'd be awesome to play as in Smash for moveset and matchup potential. I supported him pre-Brawl (though stated I would definitely be satisfied with just Diddy), and I will support him for every Smash game until he makes the cut.
Cranky Kong: 15% chance
Although he may be the dark horse candidate of this race, he still stands a fair chance. He's a side character in almost every DK game up until Tropical Freeze, where he was elevated to playable character. Although he's more ubiquitous in the series than either Dixie or K. Rool, he lacks the important roles that they play. He has relevance on par with that of Dixie and he could be used for promotion. His main perk is his cane-bounce and use of his cane for other purposes; he probably surpasses Dixie in terms of unique potential. He lacks Dixie's ease of creation, however, and he's behind her (and FAR behind Rool) in terms of requests. Unless they decide to promote Tropical Freeze but don't see Dixie as unique enough to warrant a spot (or group her with Diddy), then he probably won't manage to get in.
Cranky Kong Want: 99%
As a character, Cranky far surpasses K. Rool in my tastes. I've always loved his not-so-subtle fourth wall shattering and the fact that he is actually THE Donkey Kong. I'd love to see him come in and teach those youngsters a lesson! Even so, I'd prefer K. Rool because he has more of a "coolness" factor to me when it comes to playableness in Smash.
..whew. Over a thousand words later, I now have odds for the DK franchise. But what if something... unexpected... happens. What if K. Rool actually is in Tropical Freeze? Wouldn't that eliminate the relevancy edge of Dixie and Cranky? It would. And K. Rool being in Tropical Freeze... probably not going to happen, but it's not all that far-fetched.
If K. Rool were to appear in Tropical Freeze game as the final boss in disguise or even as a post-game secret fight for some post-launch/immediate pre-launch hype, my scores would change to the following:
Dixie Kong at 30%, Cranky Kong at 5%, and K. Rool at 65%.
Whew. Done. Finally. Let's toss in an E Gadd x10. I'm not predicting today because I'm too burnt out.
DAY OVER
REYN TIME IS OVER
